"What we don't know and I don't know is whether that is the natural caution that one would have when you show up in Washington and try to get a drink from a fire hydrant all of a sudden, or whether its reflective of where he'll ultimately end up. I don't have an answer. I hope that he supports both."

Barrasso's spokesman says the Senator is reading legislation before he takes any action on it. But he says Barrasso holds the same basic stand on the two issues that Senator Thomas did.